Strangest day EVAR
Okay, so I haven't blogged in a month and a half. I've been pushing myself probably a little TOO hard, not having proper time for family, friends, or my lovely blog. But today was the strangest day I've had in a long, long time, maybe ever. So I have to write!

It started waking up with a dream about an ex, which was weird. I dreamt she was talking to her mom about a guy, and mentioned his name. I know she just got a boyfriend not too long ago, so if I find out that his name is the same one I dreamed, that will freak me out. Although it would fit fine with the rest of my day.

I woke up, took care of a few things I needed to do, then had a friend over to play some Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. Which, by the way, is a bloody incredible game, on the 360. Seriously. I mean, look at it. So we enjoyed a bit of that, and then I had to run to kung fu (yes, on a Sunday) to get ready for our lion dance tonight. We had one scheduled to help a fund-raiser for the zoo, and it was to be at In The Raw, the sushi place.

So I run to kung fu, we set up the schedule for it, very basic stuff. And then Sifu lets us go for a while, since we had until 7 before we had to get ready to go. So we go and eat at a Vietnamese place. Don't remember the name of it. I got some pork fried rice, but I'm not sure it was really pork. They had HUGE fish in their fishtank.

We go back to the kwoon and Sihing and I wait outside, since it's very nice outside, with a warm wind. We talked about business stuff, which was cool. We also walked down to where the old kwoon was, and reminisced. The old times - somewhat melancholy conversation. But then it was time! We went back, packed up the lion, got in the car, and headed to In The Raw.

This is where things started getting weird. For one, my GPS, which is usually never without fail, pointed us to a residental address for In The Raw, about a mile away from where it should have been. It was okay, we made it there in time, but that was unusual. So we get out, get everything set up over by Brookside By Day, so we can walk up to the people in the sushi place without them suspecting us. We're sitting there waiting for our cue, and the weather's looking sketchy. We're just waiting, and a minivan (maybe it was an SUV) stops, a guy leans out and asks us, "What are you guys doing?" So Sifu tells them, a lion dance, for the sushi restaurant. Then the guy leans further out, and shouts, "Gesinski?!?" I was a little surprised, and said, "Yes? How'd you recognize me?" Apparently they had seen my picture (in the lion dance gear) in MySpace, and that's how they knew. It was two guys I went to high school with that I hadn't seen in TEN YEARS. Seriously. My ten year reunion is coming up soon, actually. Which is kind of scary.

So that was weird, and the fact that random people knew who I was off the street made me feel weirdly connected to the world. The weather started looking worse, and then large drops started appearing on the ground. Sifu said, "It's time, let's start!" And we get into the lion. As we're setting up, Crystal (playing the gong for our music) said, "Something hit me!" I figured they must be very large raindrops. Then after getting into the lion, I realize, it's not rain. It's HAIL. Yes, hail. During about 70 degree humid weather. So we're dancing the lion (which, by the way, had one of the lights in the eyes out, which was also random) down the street towards the restaurant. The people inside see us and start pointing and such. We come around to enter the door, and as we're about to step inside, the hail STOPS. Yes, it was just enough for us to experience while walking outside. So we move in, do the dance, and everyone loves us! It was a big success, lots of applause. Then we do some kung fu demos. The space inside is very, very tight. There's a sword form, then me and Sihing do a short sparring set (which I mangled slightly, but we recovered okay), then Lau Gar Kuen, then Sihing does his double sword set. He managed to do it very nicely, considering he was swinging two swords around everywhere in close proximity to tables full of people. He made lots of them nervous, I think, but he did it with excellence.

As Sifu leaves the lion up for people to take pictures with, I notice one of the waitresses looks somewhat familiar. I wait for her to walk out, then ask one of the others about her name, and specified. They said, yes, that was her. So then I catch her while she's coming out, and ask her name - she says, "Yes?" with a look like, "Who the hell is this and why does he know my name?" And then recognition slowly crosses her face, and she says, "Eric?" And I confirm it. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to talk, and we had to leave, so we said our quick hello, so forth, but I think we'll get in contact with each other again sometime soon, somehow. Oh, and I haven't seen HER in about ten years, too. I don't know her from high school. Our parents were good friends, and her mom actually used to be my barber. Which may come in handy, since my hair is getting CRAZY long, because I haven't been able to get in touch with my normal barber. I kind of like it, but it's getting to the point where it's out of control. When I have a guitar on, it works, but when I'm at work, it's not so good.

We headed back to the kwoon, and I realize only then that I left my PANTS at the restaurant. Yes, I left my pants there. Don't worry, I had another set on, but the lion dance pants I removed to do the other demo, and in the rush, didn't realize they were still there. So it looks like I'll have to head back over there to retrieve them. Maybe it's meant to be, who knows. How I didn't notice they were there, I have no idea, since they're golden and shiny.

So that's my strange day. Yes, it's been very, very strange. Justin said I should go play the lottery, and maybe he's right. In other news, I'll be testing in my next form on Saturday, called Fu Hok, also known as Tiger Crane. It's the last open hand form in our system that's publicly taught to our students, which means after testing, I'll get my black belt. That's something I should have had a long time ago, but finally it's going to actually happen.

I've also been spending a ton of time trying to set up a side business, for independent income. Minor success, but I still have a long ways to go. When I finally get there, I may detail it further, but at the moment it's sort of my little secret.

I'm also going to go out of town on a business trip next month sometime, to California, for two weeks. My first business trip! I hope it goes okay. I don't really like flying. I used to like it more, but it's a serious pain nowadays. Alas, for business, it needs to be done.

So! My apologies for such a lackluster month and a half on my blog. It's been a long time, and I have missed it, myself. Speaking of... random link time! Many random links today. Let's begin! First of all, this is just too cool, and you can get me one for Christmas. And there are blogs a plenty to be seen! One you can't touch, another is verbose in many ways (explore it, the older entries are better). From my old roomie Nick - some people take movies a little too seriously. And here's some downloads: the way REAL men fish (real men being lazy). And I'll finish with a small download, about a lovely evening some guys had at a hotel.
- posted by Pootenheimer @ 8:45 PM | 3 comments